Montgomery County BPW celebrates 90 years as ‘the voice of working women’

Central Montgomery County Business and Professional Women’s Club president Becky Shoulberg was presented with a statue of Greek goddess Nike, the club’s national symbol, at a 90th anniversary celebration in Montgomeryville on May 6, 2017.
Submitted photo

NORRISTOWN >> A vital local organizations’ unique milestone is now carved in stone.

The long-lasting mineral trusted for erecting buildings and statues provided the theme for the 90th anniversary celebration of the Central Montgomery County Business and Professional Women’s Club (CMCBPW) on May 6.

“Stone represents strength and endurance through the years,” noted Becky Shoulberg, a Norristown native and current president of the group that started out as the Norristown Business and Professional Women’s Club back in the late 1920s and once hosted Amelia Earhart.

At the banquet, which was held at the Montgomery Township Community and Recreation Center in Montgomeryville, guests — who included many past presidents — were treated to music by Danny Quimby and an exhibit commemorating Earhart’s visit to Norristown.

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“On May 19, 1936, the guest speaker was the ‘lady of the skies,’ Mrs. Amelia Earhart Putnam, and the Norristown club considered itself privileged to be ‘the first to contribute to the Amelia Earhart Memorial,’ according to club history,” Shoulberg said.

The 90th anniversary event was also marked by the club’s presentation of a statue of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory and the national BPW symbol, to Shoulberg.

CMCBPW, which is billed as “the voice of working women,” is one of more than 60 local groups that are all part of the statewide organization that boasts nearly 2,000 members.

In 2006, with membership dwindling, the club dropped the Norristown designation in favor of the more inclusive Central Montgomery County umbrella, and things have been back on an upward spiral ever since.

“We changed our name because we absorbed members from other Montgomery County chapters that disbanded, and that kept us afloat because we got the leadership form those chapters to become involved with us,” Shoulberg explained. “Our membership is now throughout Montgomery County and a little bit into Philadelphia and into Bucks County.”

In the last 11 years, the club described as “a diverse group that welcomes people from all walks of life, working together for pay equality, work place equality and women’s self-efficiency” has welcomed many new young members, Shoulberg noted.

“I love that we have active members from 21 to 91. Our current young superstar is Temple University junior Alexis Werner, a National Liberty Museum Young Heroes recipient for her work with veterans with her community garden nonprofit, Seeds for Hope. Her documentary, ‘Our Way Home,’ has aired on PBS.”

Shoulberg also touted the many contributions of longtime member Sally Shaw, who will turn 90 next month.

“Sally and Norristown BPW were both ‘chartered’ on June 10 1927,” Shoulberg said, laughing. “Sally owned a dance studio on Main Street across from my grandfather’s gun store/pawn shop. She is retired from Montgomery County Community College, where she worked in their Human Services department.”

The college is a longtime recipient of a $2,000 scholarship awarded by the club for “older women”, over 25, noted treasurer Noreen Morello, a past president.

“The scholarship is for an older woman returning to college and it’s one of our biggest programs,” she explained. “We always ask the recipient to come back and visit our group and tell us what courses they’re taking and how they’re doing.”

Morello, and her husband Russell Morello, are co-owners of Morello Inc., a Norristown-based family business that was established 70 years ago by Russell’s father.

She’s been with the group for 25 years, is a former member of Norristown Municipal and last year was named the organization’s Woman of the Year at the state level.

“We also have relationships with Norristown Vet Center staff and Mary Walker House in Coatesville, and many Norristown agencies benefit from our support, such as Norristown State Hospital, the Patrician Society food bank and the Senior Center on George Street,” added Morello, who echoed Shoulberg’s pride in the club’s Individual Development (ID) classes, designed to “develop leadership and communication skills at the same time it introduces participants to BPW, its goals and issues.”

ID classes are frequently administered by past state president Nancy Werner, who Shoulberg credited as “the one who stepped in to keep us together 10 years ago when we became known as Central Montgomery County chapter.”

The ID classes help women “build confidence to go out into the world,” noted Morello, who allowed that the club’s premise has evolved from a largely professional ethic to “just women helping women. The best way to learn about us and what we offer is to come to one of our meetings.”

With many aspects of the club feeding the minds and souls of members, the dinner meetings also take care of the “belly” portion, Shoulberg pointed out with a laugh.

“We have these yummy dinners the third Thursday of the month at Peppers Italian Restaurant in King of Prussia,” she said. “We cover a lot of ground at the meetings and always welcome new people.”